The former GM car manufacturing plant in Doraville becomes more of retail car lot and body repair facility every day. The city’s mayor and council held public meetings and made it very clear to the owners of the Falcons and Braves they were not welcome. Car companies like Porsche and Mercedes were given the cold shoulder when corporate offices were mentioned. No sports or corporate offices. 75 acres of the original 192 acre site are now filled with body shops, new and used cars, and large storage lots of new car inventories from surrounding dealers from Chamblee. Who is responsible for this developmental nightmare? Who voted to change the zoning and what politician received the cash and prizes?
To be continued…

TAD passed Dekalb County
Public housing may be a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority. Euphemisms such as affordable housing , work force housing, non market rate housing are used in an effort to market these ‘projects’. Housing projects entered into with such nice titles like ‘public-private partnerships’. Social housing by a developer that specializes in subsidized rental units with his ownership- paid for by ‘unique’ taxpayer paid money schemes.
The Doraville government, with the help of a host of enablers, has asked the Camel to come in and have a seat in the tent. While most jurisdictions keep the ARC and central government planners at arms length. The mayor of Doraville georgia and her council aren’t quite as perceptive. They had the Government planners of the ARC and a slick developer take care of ‘everything’. Including all the taxpayer’s money, property and future for the next 35 years.
Tuesdays vote by Dekalb county passed a TAD intergovernmental agreement for 200 million in bonds with only the illusion of oversight. The agreement makes possible 1.8 billion will be borrowed in a government owned lease back development. No taxes will go to the city, county or the collapsing Dekalb school system for 30 to 35 years. Some questions were asked but the entire 7 member commission voted to send a pile of notes (no draft was approved ) IGA to Doraville for approval. The New CEO of Dekalb, Micheal Thurmond, twisted a lot of arms on the behalf of his fat cat friends at the state capital, developer buddies and Washington.
Possibly the most corrupt county in georgia is making a backroom deal with possibly the most corrupt city in georgia. The largest public housing project, 200 million in bloated public works projects coupled with 60 to 110 acres of body shops, car lots, bus stations, marta and low income medical and social services. No money for the tens of thousands of school kids, no money for water, fire, sewage, police and city services for 30 years.
Requests for the documents or notes voted on are not available per Dekalb county. They did not vote on a draft document, as per the law, but an illegally assembled document after the meeting was over. The public has no access to the document before the Doraville city council meeting meeting. Doraville’s council members will not answer questions, return emails or phone calls.

The former GM Doraville assembly plant site has been sold by the Intergral group, who had purchased the site from GM. The Intergral holding company, Doraville Sixty, sold the remaining 120 acre parcel for 20 million after paying 50 million to GM for the original 165 acres. Dekalb tax records show the parcel that just sold for 20 million, to be worth 48,000,000.Doraville Sixty and Development Authority docs – filed Jan 2017

The GM site has seen a lot of controversy since the Atlanta public housing developer purchased the site on a 50 million dollar balloon note three years ago. Taxpayers, the Dekalb school system,
and local residents have balked using public funds to develop the site. 65 acres of body shops, new and used car lots have popped up and millions of the local government’s tax money squandered.
More to come….

Gm site development and Doraville are all the city’s Pr department has talked about since 2008. The next Atlantic station, movie studios, Falcons, Braves, casinos and more. Most of it is pr hot air and in some cases out right lies. The city has two full time spin doctors to keep the ilusion lit. Running the show in Doraville is not the Ex mall guard turned mayor, Donna Pittman. Doraville city council hired a city manager to take over the mayors full time position. She was not capable of running the city so professional help was required. The manager’s name is Shawn Gillen. An ex-football player turned politician/ manager.
The Pr machine created by Shawn Gillen would leed the average citizen or news paper reader to believe that something extraordinary was going to be built. The town would see a twenty year, multi billion dollar development build out. This was the story he was pictching to the Dekalb County BOC ( Board of Commissioners) in June. The development team, mayor, city staff, hired pr / salesman and Shawn Gillen were painting this pretty picture to the BOC. The city is trying to convince the County and school board to float a 294 million TAD bond and forgo taxes on new development for 25 years. The county, school board, and the city will have to cover services during the same period without the tax income.
What the newspapers, The BOC, and the people of Doraville did not know, Mr Gillen was looking for another job at the same time. What, the most important development in Georgia, a great time to run a city!! What!! Shawn Gillen, a resident of Johns Creek not Doraville, was applying for the ASSISTANT MANAGERS job in neighboring Brookhaven. Not the city managers job like he currenty holds in Doraville. The ASSISTANT???
The city of doraville has its problems. All small towns in a competitive metro market have problems. The challenge is to manage each towns unique assets for the least amount of money with highest quality results. The opposite has occured during the last four years. The Donna Pittman years. Taxes and pork projects are expanding while services are contracting. Everything bad is blamed on the GM plant closing, not the bad management of the city. The bail out of Doraville businesses and citizens over the last four years is reaching epidemic proportions and the demographics are in free fall.

Purhaps Shawn Gillen knows the rope is running out on his $300,000 budget and the house of cards is coming down.

The president of the city’s Downtown Development Authority and the largest strip mall owner, Jack Halpern, is moving his home office to Sandy Springs. This comes on the heals of selling off his largest shopping mall property ( Chick fil a , Wells fargo , and Mcdonalds) for 22 million. The City Planner, Joe Cooley (- a attorney/planner who worked for the law firm representing Halpern before getting a job as the planner for Doraville ) left Doraville and has taken a planning job with Sandy Springs. Coincidence???

The two leaders on the city council elected not to run again. One selling her house and leaving due to
“the blatant lies and corruption in leadership of Doraville city hall”.

There seems to be a pattern here. The insiders are getting out while chanting the “GM development is great” theme.

See Redact to see Shawn Gillen’s Job Application to Brookhaven. An open records request to the city of Brookhaven netted the application.

Small micro breweries are sprouting up across the US. These brew pubs or growlers serve a Cheers atmosphere with food and a fresh tasty malt beverage. Beer brewed in shiny 200 gal vessels in a old exposed brick converted warehouse atmosphere.
Micro breweries rarely produce more than 16,000 gal per year. food, beverage, and local meeting place for a small town to gather.

This is the picture presented to the Doraville city council. Simple, right? The plan presented by Donna Pittman, the ex mall guard mayor, dysfunctional staff, and a ‘applicant’ who was considering opening a business. The ‘applicant’, the city was spending time and taxpayer resources on, wanted the zoning changed to allow a beer bottling plant. Not a micro brew pub/restaurant. Yes, no food, no cheers, no everyone knows your name. Just a big ugly , multi million gal bottling plant, truck traffic, smelly, exploding, neighborhood yeast infection next to a park and two streams. Thanks to Donna and her fellow dimwits.
The council voted to change the planning commission recommendation by going from a 16,000 gal micro to a full size bottling plant. The vote was 3 to 2. Donna Pittman’s step and fetch it on the council Robert Patrick, The beer guzzling Maria Alexander, and of course the rolling ethics violation, Pam Flemming. Ms Flemming making the comment” I don’t care what he builds (applicant) I’ll vote yes”.
Standards aren’t very high here in Doryville!
Donna Pittman and Pam Flemming are up for re election in November. Chances of these two nitwits of being voted back in are nil. Perhaps ‘Laverne and Shirley’ think they can get a job at the bottling plant after being thrown out of office.
Dawn O’connor and Sharon Spangler voted against the change in the zoning law to allow the heavy industrial use in the neighborhood.
The only audience members for the plant were two people who got a recent zoning hookup from Donna. One wearing a bad wig the other a shirt with a beer sponsor emblazoned across his chest. A little tit for tat.
Reason enough for good development to run for the exits.

The troubled little town of Doraville Georgia suffered a major setback with a controversial two part annexation in last Tuesday’s election. Voters, in the proposed annexation area south of the city, overwhelmingly said no. This is the third unsuccessful attempt by the City since 2007 to grab control of $325,000,000 of businesses, homes, plus police control of I85 north and I285 known as spaghetti Junction.
See voter results below.

Annexations by cities surrounding Doraville have been successful using a voter referendum. Georgia law provides four distinct methods for city and counties to annex or de annex lands. The Georgia Municipal association provides a easy cook book of rules to follow and provides assistance. Doraville, the metro Atlanta problem child, couldn’t follow those simple instructions. They had to go around the process in their land grab to fund a back room deal. Quote from a Georgia House rep ” If this vote goes south on the annexation, this is going to be a big mess”. Lets take a look at the mess, how it was created, why and where all this is headed.
See annexation Gma report below

The new City of Dunwoody and neighbor Chamblee annexed unincorporated land on the northern border of Doraville in a three city referendum in 2007. The two other cities were successful but Doraville’s bid was defeated by the voters in the annexation area. This created a island. Time passed, new state house reps, new city council. The “new” state legislators “gave” Doraville the northern annexation area in 2013 without a referendum. The voters in the area cried foul. They were not given a voice or a choice between Dunwoody or Doraville. The old State and senate reps were ethical, required a vote – the new reps and Doraville Mayor were not so concerned about ethics or peoples rights. They just took the land without so much as a letter of warning.

The same Legislators led by Scott Holcomb (dem) and Tom Taylor (republican) tried the same scam for the southern end of the city. This attempt presented a different set of problems and driven by a different purpose. There was no unincorporated island, larger area and more voters, and had been defeated twice like the northern annexation area. The purpose was different and more pressing- Money and land. The city needed the 325,000,000 land value for a 10% city land value bond requirement to underwrite a bankrupt developer in a Gm site land scheme. They could not wait until all the rules were followed- they needed the collateral NOW! The GM deal was closing. They promised the money in a backroom deal, now the Mayor and her cronies had to deliver. Problem – the voters outside of Doraville are apparently a little smarter than the two reps and Doraville City hall. They didn’t cooperate – strike three -Doraville was out. But this created a bigger mess.

The film trucks rolled into the old union hall parking lot this evening in preparation for Wednesday july 9 shooting of the movie ‘Triple Nine’ starring Norman Reedus, Aaron Paul, Woody Harrelson.
9 film and support vehicles are ready. Should be exciting!
Owner of this ex UAW building and parking lot was the focus of a two year long FBI investigation
which resulted in a indictment and conviction for bribing a Doraville official. This investigation also involved a coverup by one of the most inept, crooked city in Georgia. Gee, A movie about Russian Mafia, crooked cops, strippers, pimps filmed in a criminals parking lot in a criminal city. They are making a film about the City of Doraville City Government. They don’t need any extras.
Will post photos

Jesse Norman at Buford highway is collapsing as the 1500 foot metal pipe that runs in front of the Quick trip on Buford and Jesse Norman continues to cave. The pictures follow the pipe from the quick trip across the old North East bank property, across Jesse Norman, behind the Quick trip. Doravilleonlinenews has tried for the last two weeks to interview the Doraville city manager for comment. Has not responded. Update: sat down with the Doraville city manager on monday 6-16-2014. “Engineers are looking at the pipe at the waffle house”. Didn’t want to talk about the complete system of pipes rusting out, streams, collapsing roadways, or the three previous non permitted jobs on the waffle house property, staff problems. The tractor in the sink hole was one of those approved without a permit or approved site plan jobs. See: City Manager interview

The new Quick trip combined three lots sending all the rainwater into a old collapsing system.

Doravilleonline news has learned from Dekalb and Gdot officials that 1500 ft of storm water pipes from the QT on Buford highway to the stream located behind the metro bank building have collapsed in multiple locations. Buford highway, Jesse Norman way, Buford highway sidewalks, and multiple areas behind the waffle house are pock marked with sink holes. The city is being cited as the party responsible because it is collecting the storm water fees to maintain these systems and is responsible for the storm water system. The city has come under fire for using its storm water fees to buy an $44,000 pickup truck and fund 500,000 pork paving projects for key voters and donors. The city has a est. 20,000,000 crumbling storm water problem.
The track hoe fell into sink hole while repairing a wall behind the waffle house- operator was unharmed.
The waffle house located at Jesse Norman and buford highway.

The picture is a 2004 water color presentation of a townhouse project presented to neighborhood groups. The development was described as a group of high quality $335,000 fee simple brick townhouses facing Chestnut road. The background shows water and the stream that forms the border of the property. Old growth forest and new specimen trees.
The Townhouses were to be built close to Chestnut to keep them out of the water, flood plain, and for environmental reasons. The slope was another major factor claimed.

The Plans didn’t match the water color, what was built didn’t match what was approved, and the land didn’t match the drawing.OceTDS2259

The developers had a local neighborhood group and the mayor of the city convinced that the 8 to 10 town houses built close to the road would be a positive for the neighborhood. The rest of the neighborhood was not convinced, for good reasons, as we shall see. The Townhouse project presented and what was built- well- This is the story of Doraville Georgia. The greed and ignorance of its politicians, the desperation of the neighborhoods to do better, and the sad results – a town that has everything going for it – of being duped.

The story will take you through a brief history of the 7 acre lot, the area and neighborhoods. Pictures, maps, zoning changes and minutes of meetings to document this project. The topic is sensitive and controversial in the city. Recent events may end up in court- both civil and perhaps criminal. Whatever the outcome, the old adage is true.
often the cover up is worse than the lie.OceTDS2262
The 1991- 2004 zoning map from the rezoning period 2005 shows the chestnut place condo area was zoned R-1 prior to the 7 acres being rezoned to R-SFA with conditions in 2005.OceTDS2263
The 2006 offical Doraville zoning map copy shows the chestnut place project to be be rezoned to R-SFA single family detatched). The 2005 rezoning indicated the project presented by: the builder, Lee Walton of The planning firm of Roberts co.( did review for City of Doraville), Dekalb county, and the City of Doraville the R-SFA rezoning was for fee simple townhouses facing chestnut like the water color.Zoning Adopt Official Street_index_Map_05-12-10_exist_nogridlines
This 2010 copy of the official Doraville Zoning map Shows the property zoned R-4c. Residential- condominiums with conditions. The site was rezoned in 2009 to match what was built. Condos, not fee simple townhouses, were built. A set of conditions were added to correct a mess created by a bankrupt development that seemed to follow none of the original plans.